Need help with 9n or 2n ID

Hey guys

I've only had my 2N for less than a week and I'm thinking it has so much wrong with it that maybe I'm better off finding another one to restore and use this one for parts?

So I went to look at one today and I'm super confused because there are features on it (or missing from it) that are confusing to me.

First of all, the seller called it a 1950 but I believe this one is a 1939 to 1941 9n because of the I-beam bars to the front axle. I checked the engine block serial number and it is showing up as a 2N from 1946.

As far as I can tell, it's been pieced together from multiple tractors so I'm just trying to figure out what the years of the parts are I guess.

So here's where it gets weird...

On the front of the steering gear housing I expected to see the starter switch but there's no provision for a start switch. I checked in front of the gear shift and there's no start switch there like I have on my 2N.

The dash appears to be a thick aluminum casting but it is broken. The rear fenders have 2 grooves in them which I thought points to a 1939 9n.

The PTO cover doesn't seem to be covering a pto... it looks solid, unless the coats of paint are covering the threads. Is it possible there is no PTO?

It looks like there was a hole in the differential case at one time, and I noticed none of the axle tubes have the usual casting numbers anywhere.

Are any of these features indicative of a certain era? Clearly the engine is 1946 but the other features seem very different and I don't know enough to see the clues the features point to.

I noticed the engine block has H126 cast near the starter, which I think means the engine was made on Aug 12 1946. It sure doesn't match up with the rest of the tractor.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Welcome to the site! If you could post some pictures that would help to see what you have.

sounds like u could be looking at an early 9N with a 46 2N motor. as henry said, we love pics

Brokegunner,Here is some great ID information for you.
Smiths Great ID page

Welcome to the forum!
Others have mostly covered the second one.
What's wrong with the first one?

Thanks for all the replies, I truly appreciate the help. I tried uploading photos
but i got amessage saying i had a bad word in my post and i could not continue...
this was after making a post with only a few photos and no text so i dont know whst
i am doing wrong. I will try on my work pc tomorrow.

I think I've narrowed it down to an early 9n with a 2n engine.

To answer the question about my 2n, here is a quick rundown:

Purchased it last friday for $400 and all parts are there and tires are in fairly
good shape so it was a no brainer to buy it. Had been sitting many years.
Got it home and engine is froze, poured marvel mystery oil in plug holes, slowly
was able to turn by hand. All wiring shot, starter switch terminals loose,carb
rusted badly. Rigged up wires to new 6v batt and got it to spin with plugs out.
No oil pressure. Oil looks good on dipstick, installed new carb and find no spark.
Pulled distributor and work it over, new points and plugs,wires,etc finally starts
for 10 seconds, still no oil pressure. Pull line from oil press gauge, nothing
coming out. Learned about priming pump so i pumped gear oil into the oil relief
spring hole and spun motor with no plugs. Finally got water shooting out of oil
line to gauge decided I'm stupid for not changing oil on step one, so drained
engine oil and refilled. Now starter is giving me fits and I'm worried that having
water in crankcase for unknown length of time may have destroyed internals.
2n needs fuel tank, radiator, water pump, now starter, already spent $200 on carb,
now with a questionable motor I'm worried about throwing money into it.

Today i found the 9n for $900. BAD- It's missing starter, carb, coil, 12v
alternator (had been converted), grill, all parts of hitch/drawbar. Good- it looks
to be in better shape, has nicer sheet metal and a decent gas tank, has BRAND NEW
TIRES all around, so I'm basically buying the tires and getting a free tractor.
Don't know if the motor will turn over yet. Clutch and brakes feel way better than
my 2n.

That's where I'm at... thinking i will probably buy the 9n and make one good
tractor.

Brokegunner,Welcome! I believe a new user has to make 3 or 4 post on here in order to post pitchers.So that is why you could not post any.Good luck with your Ns and if you need any help please come back,

Welcome aboard. As a newbie, many here agree the first order of business is to get the essential manuals and read religiously. You need to know the critical parts and what they do. Maybe should have did some research before buying. All 9N and 2N tractors (except Industrial and export) used the ?9N? prefix in the serial number. You may be right about owning a ?mutt? as many N?s had their engines swapped out. Double ribbed fenders and aluminum dash indicate early 1939 9N. Is the start switch button on the LH Dash Panel? Early 9Ns were like this. Is there a red lamp on the LH dash near the Ammeter? Is the key switch on the RH dash? Does the gas tank have the filler spout central on the tank? Those would also be early 9N features. IF it is not a complete early 9N you don?t plan on restoring, a serial number means nothing, and it?s your decision on whether to invest in refurbishing. There are differences between the 9N and 2N over the years and, again, you really need to invest in the manuals, visit John Smiths archived site under TRACTOR ID/HISTORY to learn about many of those changes. My advice is to NOT just start replacing parts. A tractor that has been idle for decades needs some prep BEFORE firing over. MMO is a snake-oil product, forget it, but it?s your money. You can get the same from mineral spirits, or charcoal lighter fluid/paint thinner ?they are the same thing. The OEM electrical system on all old FORDs was 6 VOLT/POSTIVE GROUND. Some have been switched over to 12V/NEG GRN, however, many are wired incorrectly. OEM electrical systems (after s/n 9N-12500) used a 1-Wire/3-Brush 11.5 AMP generator, WITH the round can cutout. The cutout was mounted on the back dash panel. If you have a correct 12V job, the cutout will be gone altogether. The starter motor was a 1-Wire unit that used NO solenoid ?that came with the 8N model in 1947. It?s important to know what you have and how it should be wired whether 6V or 12V. Again, avoid buying any new parts until you know for certain old ones are defective. Get tractor prepped and started/running before investigation shows what is and isn?t right. The original parts on these were designed to be rebuilt over and over. Carbs, distributors, water pumps, governors, and more are all rebuildable and originals much better than anything aftermarket sold today. I?ll buy your old carb and distributor if ya got em. My advice is to do a lot more research and root cause problem solving before doing anything, and especially before buying another tractor.

FORD 9N/2N TRACTOR ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

Thanks, that makes more sense than the crazy message I got about my bad words

I'll post a couple of filler posts here and then get my photos posted.

(quoted from post at 02:31:42 10/18/18) Brokegunner,Welcome! I believe a new user has to make 3 or 4 post on here in order to post pitchers.So that is why you could not post any.Good luck with your Ns and if you need any help please come back,

Click to expand...

No minimum number of posts needed to link images - just to upload them to the pictures area. Upload your images to a third party hosting site like http://imgur.com and link away from post number 1.

Bad words may be a reference to a banned site or something seemingly innocuous. For example I recently discovered "lib-e-ral" (hypens to get it past the filter) is flagged and will auto-magically morph into "abundant".

Sounds like both tractors are little more than expensively priced salvage...

TOH

I suggest you part Both of them out. Or
sell the pair to some other poor sucker.
Then buy a 600, 800, 2000, 3000, 4000.
A newer tractor will have a LOT more
options and features, will be much more
capable, will be just as much fun to
restore and operate and who knows, you
might get 1/2 of your "investment" back
instead of 1/8 of it like you will with an
N.

I don't know that much about these tractors but I figured $400 for a complete tractor with 4 decent tires was a fair deal... I never considered that would be "Expensively priced salvage"

Oh well, I guess I'll chalk it up to my tuition for my tractor education haha

I do have an IMGUR account so I uploaded the photos of the green 9n I was looking at yesterday. I am pretty sure the majority of the tractor is an early 9n and the Engine has been replaced with a 1946 2N block.

This is the tractor for sale locally, he wants $900 for it. All 4 tires are brand new, they still have the stickers on them. They are "Harvest King" brand which probably aren't the best but they seem to be priced around $450 each for the rears, which is why I am thinking this may not be a bad deal? Here are the pics:

It's a '39 or early '40. Look at the end of the tranny case for number. You might have to scrap a bit of the green paint off.

<a href="https://imgur.com/LJsW0dh"></a>

<a href="https://imgur.com/O1ugx4M"></a>

BTW the wheel weights and original 4 spoke wheel adds value to the tractor.

(quoted from post at 22:33:59 10/17/18)

The PTO cover doesn't seem to be covering a pto... it looks solid, unless the coats of paint are covering the threads. Is it possible there is no PTO?

Click to expand...

that's a normal looking PTO cover to me. put a big adjustable or pipe wrench on the square part, and u should be able to unscrew it easily.

(quoted from post at 09:41:48 10/18/18)

(quoted from post at 22:33:59 10/17/18)

The PTO cover doesn't seem to be covering a pto... it looks solid, unless the coats of paint are covering the threads. Is it possible there is no PTO?

Click to expand...

that's a normal looking PTO cover to me. put a big adjustable or pipe wrench on the square part, and u should be able to unscrew it easily.

Click to expand...

I think I was looking on the face of the cover for threads, I am now seeing where that is all part of the cover and yes it should be able to unscrew. Thanks.

I really do suggest you skip the Ns
altogether and go newer.
I've been on this board for a long time and
have seen hundreds if not thousands of guys
buy one cheap. Then before they know it
they have $1500-$2000 in an engine rebuild,
$1K in tires and rims and another $1K+ in
paint, electrics, clutch and misc parts.
When they're done the tractor might be
worth $2K.
And they still have a tractor with minimal
horsepower, non live hydraulics, no live
PTO or remote valves, not enough gears, no
power steering or the other desirable
features that a tractor just a few years
newer will have.
For $4K which you can easily spend on one
of these you can get a way better tractor
to start with.
I know this is not popular advice here
where Ns are King but it is factual and
honest.
Click the link below for the search results
on Minneapolis Craigslist and see how many
of these things are for sale. They just
aren't selling anymore.
Click here

Looks to me like an '39 or early'40. Does the battery door snap in or is it hinged? Is the hood aluminum? Are grease fitting on the front of the front spindles or on the back?

(quoted from post at 09:59:37 10/18/18) Looks to me like an '39 or early'40. Does the battery door snap in or is it hinged? Is the hood aluminum? Are grease fitting on the front of the front spindles or on the back?

Click to expand...

I didn't look at those features close enough, all I know is the things I can see in the pics.

I appreciate all the suggestions of starting with a newer tractor, but I am really interested in getting an old one like this... it's sort of the novelty factor really, it's really going to be part "yard art" and part garden tractor so I think an old N-series is going to be the most fun for me.

Hi Brokegunner; welcome to the forum. I just finished a '44 2N this year. Started from just a bare tractor, fenders and a nice gas tank. It was more of a hobby for me, rather than a money maker. Like the other guys said, I will never be able to sell it for what I put into it. I enjoyed the ride and am enjoying the tractor using it to do light duty work. It's the same age as me, so that was the whole idea in the first place. You go ahead a have fun with your project and keep us informed with your progress.

Does the tractor have rear smooth hubs? Check the trans number. I'm guess it has 28" tires/ rims?

You have a 1945 block by the engine casting code. Some of the things I see that make it a 1939 9N: Ignition "ON" dash lamp; which means the start switch button is on the upper LH dash -can't see but has to be there; 4-Spoke steering wheel; smooth doglegs; chrome shifter knob and 4" of lever; chrome throttle lever; has the roundcan cutout but steering box is 1939 as it has the cast bosses that the voltage regulator bolted to; an AUX transmission lever; snap-in battery cover hood cutout; early gas tank with fill spout central; but it is missing the muffler shield, starter, generator, and carburetor. I have the original OEM generator and TSX-33 carburetor rebuilt and ready to mount, I have an OEM 9N starter in the rebuild stage at the moment - my email is open if you are interested. The muffler shield and bracket are available at nnalert. Being a newbie, this would be a good learning experience refurbishing and better understanding the workings of Ford tractors. There's nothing wrong with the N-Series and nothing wrong with a later one either. In my opinion you might benefit most by learning on the N-Series first. It would require some investment, engine rebuild included, to get it running, but not as much as some perceive and certainly a heckuva lot cheaper than buying anything newer. If you decide to get it and part it out, I want your 4-spoke steering wheel, it's in bad shape and going to hard to repair -the place that used to restore them is out of business now. I also want the OEM dash Lamp assembly.


Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)